Ranjan Mathai is new foreign secretary

Ranjan Mathai, India's ambassador to France, will be the next foreign secretary.

The 59-year-old diplomat will assume charge on August 1, the day after the incumbent, Ms Nirupama Rao, retires.

A 1974 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Mr Mathai will serve as the top diplomat for two years, until July 31, 2013.

Mr Mathai is the first foreign secretary since the UPA came to power in 2004, who has not served as an envoy in India's neighbourhood.

A Malayali by origin, Mr Mathai is a post-graduate in political science from the University of Poona.